Canopy
by bikelock28
Summary: "You realise now that all it took was for you to act for yourself. Surely it's going to happen now for Robin and you. You had to work out for yourself that you had to take initiative . The cab's wheels slurp through the puddles. You can't wait," A lot goes on in 1.22 Come On! This is its ending in different character's PoV's.
1. Evening

**I think we can all agree that I write far too much Robin/ Barney fluff, so I thought I'd have a shot at something from S1 in a different style. This is various character's PoV on the end of 1.22 ****_Come On! _****In case you haven't seen it in a while, Penelope is Barney's "ex" who helps Ted to do his rain dance.**

**T for language, angst. I do not own HIMYM. Please enjoy. **

* * *

**Canopy**

_"Some people walk in the rain- others just get wet,"- Roger Miller_

Evening

Lily:

"Pause," you say. He says he can't. You say it again. He asks why. You kiss him. He lifts you up and carries you into your bedroom. You kiss him and pull at his clothes and try to forget. That's what Pause Function was invented for, right? It doesn't work though. You can't turn your brain off, and you reckon that he feels the same. You love him but in your heart of hearts you know that you'll lose yourself if you don't leave. You kiss him hard and screw your eyes up to convince yourself you aren't crying.

* * *

Penelope:

You're loitering by wall which runs around the side of the roof, while Barney's friend (Tim? Ted? Tom?) jumps about like a lunatic, supposedly to win the girl of his dreams. You wonder how this kind of romantic idiot could have ended up being best friends with Barney- also an idiot (and that's an understatement) but as un-romantic as it's possible to be (in a car. Seriously, in a car. It probably wasn't even his). The friend begins shouting- "I LOVE HER!"- like that'll make any difference, "GIMME SOME RAIN!"- does he seriously believe it'll work?- "COME ON!"- lovesick moron.

And then the heavens open.

The friend whoops in delight, claps Barney on the back, triumphantly shouting, "I told you so!" and scampers down the stairway on the side of the roof. You roll your eyes, fold your arms and look back out across the city. After a few moments you hear Barney's voice very close beside you ear.

"What a jerk," he scoffs. You jump in alarm and he sniggers.

"How do you do that? You're like a ghost,"

He chuckles again- "Please,"

You should probably leave now- but there's something magnetic about the suit and the smile and the eyes. You resolve to say and chat to him for a while, but no way is he getting anything more than that.

"Who's the jerk then- you or him?"

He leans his elbows on the wall, chin in his hands. "Him,"

"I was thinking both of you, actually. But you're the biggest,"

He cocks an eyebrow, grinning sleazily.

You glare at him. "Oh, shut up,"

* * *

Ted:

You crash down the metal steps all the way to the ground floor, feet clanging on the stairs and water splashing up around your shins. Once you reach ground level, you race though the alley into the street, running to the nearest taxi. You wrench open the door, hurl yourself in and breathlessly recite her address to the driver. Raindrops dribble down the window as you begin to drive- uncertainly carving their way like a child trying to trace along a straight line with their finger.

You made it happen. _You _made it rain. You were prepared to wait for the universe's plan, but you realise now that all it took was for you to act for yourself. Surely it's going to happen now for Robin and you. You had to work out for yourself that you had to take initiative . The cab's wheels slurp through the puddles. You can't wait.

* * *

Penelope:

"So…you. Me. _Roof_,"

"Soon to be me; roof. You; ground," you retort bitterly.

"Aaw, come on. Let me buy you a drink,"

You turn to him- "Are you serious?"

"Of course,"

"Sorry, were you there when you hooked up with me _in a car, _ditched me, then hit on my Mom? Or did you miss that?"

"You've just helped my best friend get the girl of his dreams. I think I owe you a brandy,"

"No,"

"Just as a thanks. I won't try anything, I swear,"

"We both know you will. No,"

"Please,"

"No,"

"Please,"

"No,"

"Fine,"

Barney turns away, takes off his jacket and runs a hand through his wet hair. It looks browner in the rain. He leaves his jacket on the chair and goes back to leaning on the wall beside you. Out of the corner of your eye you watch as his shirt sleeve darkens from light blue to dark, rain sticking the fabric to his skin. His arms are kind of skinny, you recall. You glance at Barney's back, where you can see the pinkness of skin through his damp shirt. He must be cold. You remember the smooth ripples of his shoulder blades under your hands as you kissed. Rainwater drips off Barney's nose and he sniffs. You like his fine, sharp features. He really is exceptionally goodlooking.

"Alright then, buy me a drink,"

* * *

Robin:

Shouting outside your window. At first you ignore it, assuming that its local drunks or some kids messing about in the rain. But then you hear your name- and of course you know who it is. There's only one person who shouts your name from two floors below and doesn't care who sees or hears him. Your first emotion is fear- of what he'll ask, of saying Yes, of saying No, of letting him down- most of all, the fear of knowing that you're in love with Ted Mosby.

Your dogs whimper and you glance at them. They're cuddling up to each other beside the couch, shivering; they hate storms. They jostle against each other for a moment, and then the dalmatian gets to his feet, takes a couple of steps towards the door and barks angrily.

You forget Ted for a moment and kneel down beside the dog, stroking his head and murmuring, "Hey. Hey, it's alright. It's the storm. Shh, boy,"

His growls quieten, and you click your fingers to send him back over to the others. He gives you a look, then lies down with his tail curled around his body. As you watch him settle down, it occurs to you that he was frightened. Your dalmation was afraid of the thunder, but he barked and growled although he didn't know what would happen. It could have been dangerous but he'd faced his fear anyway. And he was still okay.

You open the window.


	2. Morning

Morning

Marshall:

You ask her not to leave. She says she has to. You tell her you love her. She cries. She says it back. You ask her why. She says she's sorry. She sobs. She leaves. You follow her, skirting down the stairs to your building's porch. She says she's sorry. You try to hold onto her. She goes out into the rain. You call her name. A cab passes. She hails it. You call her name. She gets in. You watch her sigh as she puts her seat belt on. You say Please. She bites her lip. She looks away. The taxi judders into life. The taxi drives away. Rainwater spatters onto your trousers. You don't notice. She's left.

* * *

Barney:

You roll out of bed, stretching. Penelope's asleep beside you and you stand up slowly so as not to wake her. Your boxers, trousers and socks are together on the floor where you took them off last night. Your still-damp shirt lies nearby. Of course, taking your jacket off on the roof yesterday was all for her. With your shirt sticking wetly to your skin, all the contours of your body were highlighted for her to admire. Plus, girls are suckers for a handsome guy looking vulnerable in a cold, wet shirt. Oh yes, you knew exactly what you were doing. You dress quickly, grimacing as the chilly fabric touches your still-warm skin. Once you've retrieved your tie from the end of the bed and put your shoes on, you grab your suit jacket and creep to the front door. In the elevator ride down you smirk victoriously to yourself. Thanks, Ted (outside it's still raining).

* * *

Taxi Driver :

A young man with dark hair hails you over and gets in the cab, breathlessly tells you a Manhattan address. His breath is cold and his crumpled clothes are damp but dripping, as if there are two lots of rain on them. You assume that he's been out in the downpour last night and then again this morning. Chances are he's heading home from the apartment of a one-night stand. He certainly has the flushed face and the gleeful, satisfied silence of a man who's spent the night thoroughly enjoying himself. But you also register something else in his eyes- joy. Pure joy, and his evident happiness seeps its way into you, much like the rain on his clothes is seeping into your cab's seats. You find yourself smiling, and you're tempted to ask the young man with dark hair why exactly he's so jubilant on a pouring Saturday morning in May. But he's quiet, and when you check your wing mirror you see him looking out of the window with a smile on his face- in his own world. As you stop the cab at his address, you silently wish the young man luck, and hope that he'll have many more happy mornings like this one. What you don't see is that after he pays you and you drive away, the young man sees his friend sitting on the steps and his smile fades. He stumbles in confusion to the friend and puts a hand on his shoulder. What you don't know is that the friend is having the most miserable morning of his life, and that the young man with dark hair has many tough days ahead of him. You don't know this though, and your last memory of him is a contented, complete young man, smiling happily as he gets out of the car.

* * *

Marshall:

You've lost track how long you've been sitting on the steps when Ted arrives (also in a taxi, you register. What's that song about a big yellow taxi taking somebody away?). His face falls when he sees you. He doesn't move for a couple of moments, then slowly crosses over to you on the steps. As he does, you hold up the engagement ring she left you with, grimacing painfully. Ted's mouth falls slightly open when he sees and he sits down beside you. In a stunned silence, he puts a hand on your shoulder. He feels cold. Ted pats your back gently and you put your hand on his knee, just for something to hold onto. Rain's drizzling. He puts his arm fully around you like used to Marcus occasionally, and you can feel his drenched jacket through your own sweater. Ted's soaking wet, and you remember him and Robin and his insistence that a rain dance would work to get them together. You wonder if it did- you know he'll want to tell you; you know that he wants to ask you exactly what's happened. You have never been more grateful for your best friend when he does none of these things. He just sits with his arm around you, on the steps in the rain.

* * *

Robin:

The dogs are grouchy due to lack of attention last night, so you give each of them their favourite types of biscuit for breakfast. Then you make pancakes for yourself, because this morning's a morning to celebrate. It's true that you don't know what you've let yourself in for, how long you and Ted will last, if you'll work. It's true that you're practical and he's a dreamer and that he's intense and you're wary of commitment. But the two of you are finally on the same page. You love Ted and Ted loves you. So there's definitely cause for pancakes.

* * *

Ted:

"D'you want to go inside?" you say quietly after five minutes or an hour or a year.

He coughs. "Yeah, okay,"

You stand up together and head back up to your apartment. You take off your wet jacket and make a cup of tea. It sounds horrible- but you're glad to be away from Marshall for a minute while you wait in the kitchen for the kettle to boil. You love him. You don't know what to say. You want to ask him everything but you can't. Not yet. You simply wish it hadn't happened. You attempted to talk Lily out of doing the interview, but somehow you feel that you're at fault. It was her choice to go but you could have done more to stop her- at least that's what you tell yourself. You wish it hadn't happened. The kettle whistles. You pour two cups of tea and arrange half a packet of biscuits on a plate. Marshall smiles in appreciation when you place the plate in front of him- you're pleased that he's raised at least a tiny smile.

Truth be told, you've forgotten about Robin already. Bros before hoes, as Barney would say.

* * *

Lily:

"And step though the scanner, please,"

Once you're through this last part of security, there is no going back. You'll have left your fiancée, your best friend, the absolute love of your life. There are three reasons why (reasons, you tell yourself, not excuses). The first is that you've come this far already- although part of you wants to go back ,you're afraid of what he'll say. Second, you're frightened of what will happen if you stay- you and Marshall merging into each other, becoming one unit- _you _as an individual will be lost. Number three is the biggest reason, the greatest fear; the fear of failing in your marriage, of letting him down. Letting Marshall down terrifies you. You _can't _allow yourself to be in a position where that's possible. Staying is too much of a risk.

You walk through the scanner. It doesn't bleep and there's no turbulence on the flight.

* * *

Penelope:

He's gone.

Son of a bitch.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. It was a bit weird, I know, but I wanted to try something new. If you enjoyed it- or if you didn't, or if you thought it was okay- please let me know in a review. Thanks again.**


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